


The fox laughed low

by blackkat



Series: Clone prompts [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Animal Transformation, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25118038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: “Aren’t they supposed to be wild animals?” Thire asks carefully, not inching so much as a step closer to the creature curled up on his bed.“It’s Coruscant, nothing here’s been wild in centuries,” Thorn reminds him, and creeps closer.
Series: Clone prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941631
Comments: 30
Kudos: 706
Collections: Fun/Humour/Crack in a Galaxy Far Far Away





	The fox laughed low

“Aren’t they supposed to be wild animals?” Thire asks carefully, not inching so much as a step closer to the creature curled up on his bed. 

“It’s Coruscant, nothing here’s been wild in _centuries_ ,” Thorn reminds him, and creeps closer. He’s always been the bravest idiot in their batch. Thire despairs of him sometimes. “Besides, it’s _cute_.”

Emphasis on the _idiot_ , apparently. 

“Thorn,” Thire warns, catching his arm. “It’s been terrorizing the whole damn barracks - “

“It stole _one_ sausage, and Jek is just overreacting - “

“We’ve been trying to catch it since _this morning_ , all of us, the _entire Coruscant Guard_ , and it’s only because we made some deity very happy that the commander hasn’t turned up yet to judge us for it.”

Thorn rolls his eyes at Thire. “It’s just lying there. Seems to me if we want to catch it now’s the perfect time.” He pulls away, then crosses the rest of the space to Thire’s bunk before Thire can catch him again. The little fox, rusty-red and speckled with grey around its muzzle, doesn’t so much as twitch the tail cover its face, and Thire will admit, it only to himself, that it’s kriffing _adorable_. 

Gently, slowly, Thorn reaches out, and strokes his knuckles over its head. Thire braces himself for fingers to go flying, for screaming and snarling - 

The fox opens one eye, peering up at Thorn with an expression that’s almost grumpy. Its ears flick, and Thorn twitches, pulling back. 

Before he can help himself, Thire steps into the gap. “Don’t _stop_ , idiot, it’s finally calm,” he hisses, and gently scratches behind the fox’s ears. It flicks its tail, then turns his head into his hand, and Thire grins before he can stop himself. Crouching down, he shifts his hand, scratching at its thick red-and-grey ruff, and says, “Hey there, monster. Gave us all quite the run-around, didn’t you?”

The fox huffs, then gives a canine grin in return, jaw lolling. It rolls over, stretching luxuriously, and Thire chuckles and obediently rubs its stomach. 

“The commander could take a few lessons from you,” he tells it. “You know how to relax, don’t you, sweetheart?” 

The fox gives him a look, upside-down, that Thire would translate as incredulous on a human. At the same time, Thorn _chokes_. 

“ _Thire_ ,” he hisses, and grabs Thire’s arm, jerking his hand away from the fox’s belly. Thire opens his mouth to demand what he thinks he’s doing, then freezes. 

A black mark, identical to the Republic seal on the chest of Fox’s armor, spreads across the fox’s chest. Not able to believe his eyes, Thire looks from the mark to the fox’s impatient expression, to the grey on its chin where Fox’s stubble usually shows by the end of the day, and - 

“Commander Fox?” he asks weakly. 

If a fox could roll its eyes, this one would. He rolls over, sits up, and barks at him, high and sharp and hair-raising. 

“Thorn - “ Thire starts, not able to believe it, except - except Fox hasn’t been around all day, and that’s his marking, and it’s _his_ look on the fox’s face, and. Maybe Thire can believe it after all. 

“Right,” Thorn says, and heads for the door at a fast clip. “Getting the Jedi. On it.”

As the door slides shut, Thire eyes Fox, and Fox eyes him right back, wrapping his tail around his paws. Black paws, just like the gauntlets he just started wearing the other day. Thire’s head hurts. 

“Just you and me, then, Commander,” he says warily. 

Fox huffs at him, then flops down and rolls back over for more belly rubs. 

There’s nothing left for Thire to do but oblige him. 


End file.
